(134340) Pluto
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase
Opposition26 Jul 202614.935.564 AU34.551 AU20h29m-23°25'175.7°0.1°
Today25 Aug 202615.035.585 AU34.693 AU20h26m-23°36'151.5°0.8°
(134340) Pluto - 2026-08-25
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Pluto are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2476521
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.3386604
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.17591
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 110.33632
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 113.07067
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 53.93391
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 44.36427
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 15.76476
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 246.73            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.


The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.





The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.




Ephemerides:
Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   20 26 35.8   -23 36 05    34.693   35.585  151.5    0.8    68   15.0 
2026-08-25 13:38 UT   20 26 33.0   -23 36 15    34.698   35.585  151.0    0.8    68   15.0 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   20 26 30.8   -23 36 23    34.702   35.585  150.5    0.8    69   15.0 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   20 26 25.8   -23 36 41    34.711   35.586  149.6    0.8    69   15.0 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   20 26 20.9   -23 36 59    34.721   35.587  148.6    0.8    69   15.0 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   20 26 16.1   -23 37 16    34.730   35.587  147.6    0.9    69   15.0 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   20 26 11.3   -23 37 33    34.740   35.588  146.6    0.9    70   15.0 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   20 26 06.6   -23 37 49    34.750   35.589  145.7    0.9    70   15.0 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   20 26 02.0   -23 38 06    34.761   35.589  144.7    0.9    70   15.0 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   20 25 57.5   -23 38 21    34.772   35.590  143.7    1.0    70   15.0 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   20 25 53.0   -23 38 37    34.783   35.591  142.7    1.0    71   15.0 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   20 25 48.5   -23 38 52    34.794   35.591  141.7    1.0    71   15.0 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   20 25 44.2   -23 39 07    34.805   35.592  140.8    1.0    71   15.0 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   20 25 39.9   -23 39 21    34.817   35.593  139.8    1.0    71   15.0 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   20 25 35.8   -23 39 35    34.829   35.594  138.8    1.1    71   15.0 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   20 25 31.6   -23 39 49    34.841   35.594  137.8    1.1    72   15.0 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   20 25 27.6   -23 40 02    34.853   35.595  136.8    1.1    72   15.1 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   20 25 23.7   -23 40 15    34.866   35.596  135.9    1.1    72   15.1 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   20 25 19.8   -23 40 27    34.879   35.596  134.9    1.1    72   15.1 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   20 25 16.1   -23 40 40    34.892   35.597  133.9    1.2    72   15.1 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   20 25 12.4   -23 40 51    34.905   35.598  132.9    1.2    72   15.1 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   20 25 08.8   -23 41 02    34.918   35.598  131.9    1.2    72   15.1 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   20 25 05.3   -23 41 13    34.932   35.599  131.0    1.2    73   15.1 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   20 25 01.9   -23 41 24    34.945   35.600  130.0    1.2    73   15.1 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   20 24 58.6   -23 41 34    34.959   35.601  129.0    1.3    73   15.1 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   20 24 55.4   -23 41 44    34.973   35.601  128.0    1.3    73   15.1 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   20 24 52.3   -23 41 53    34.988   35.602  127.0    1.3    73   15.1 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   20 24 49.3   -23 42 02    35.002   35.603  126.0    1.3    73   15.1 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   20 24 46.4   -23 42 10    35.017   35.603  125.1    1.3    73   15.1 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   20 24 43.6   -23 42 18    35.032   35.604  124.1    1.3    73   15.1 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   20 24 40.9   -23 42 26    35.047   35.605  123.1    1.4    74   15.1 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   20 24 38.3   -23 42 33    35.062   35.605  122.1    1.4    74   15.1 


    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.